Māori Years of Life Lost: Estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study, 2021

This report presents findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, focusing on the years of life lost (YLL) for Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand. It highlights the leading causes of premature death for Māori, and significant health disparities between the Māori and non-Māori populations.

Key findings

• In 2021, a total of 123,685 years of life were lost for Māori due to premature death.
• The Māori age-standardised rate of years of life lost was double that of non-Māori (15,660 per 100,000 Māori compared to 7,860 per 100,000 non-Māori).
• Non-communicable diseases make up the majority cause of premature death for Māori (78%). The largest contributors were cancer (29%), followed by cardiovascular disease (22%), which together contribute to more than half the years of life lost for Māori.
• Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of premature death for tāne Māori, and lung cancer was the leading cause for wāhine Māori.
• Self-harm was the leading cause of YLL among Māori aged 15-44 years.

The report describes the methodology used and discusses the context for interpreting these results, including data quality and classification methods.